Improvement in looms



Nirnn STATESI PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HANCOCK, OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN LOOMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 43,848, dated Augustlti, 1864.

shed in certain varieties of fancy looms,7 so

called, for weavin g woolen goods; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification.

Similar letters refer to like par ts in all the y drawings, in which- Figure lis an end elevation of a woolenloom, with the eccentric shed-motion attached to the main shaft thereof'. Fig. 2 is a front view of the eccentrics. Fig. 3 is a side view ofsaid eccentrics with a portion of the main shaft of the loom, which imparts motion to them 5 and Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, represent the several parts of the said eccentrics in detail.

The nature of my invention consists in attacbin g to the main or crank shaft of certain forms of woolen-looms,two variable eccentrics, which actuate, respectively, the elevating and depressing rods, and thus raise and lower such harnesses as the chain -motion brings into action.

This invention does not control or in any way affect the pattern and style of the cloth to be woven, but is intended to open and close the shed, or raise and` lower the harnesses in a woolen-loom by a uniform and easy motion, and with Vthe least injury to the warp. A crank-motion which actuates one rod while the other is moved by a lever attached to the tirst is in common use for this purpose, as also are the rocker-plates7 and various other devices, said devices being liable to many objections, which this invention, aftcr'due trial, is believed to obviate.

The following is a description of the con struction and operation of my invention:

Fig. lis an end view of a woolen-loom, in which the variable eccentrcs A and B are attached to the main shaft S, Fig. 8. These eccentrics carry the rigidstnds c and b, which are l attached by set-screws g g to the elevator and depressor rods C and D. (D not fully shown in Fig. 1, see Fig. 3.)

The elevator-rod D carries the leveler E and the knife M, and the depressor C carries the leveler F andthe knife N. A crank-pin in the face of the eccentric B communicates motion bya crank-rod, L, to the shaft K of the chain motion, which motion regulates the pattern or style of cloth to be woven. The elevator and depressor rods work in guides, as at G.

H is the lay or lathe, and I the connectingrod. The action of the levelers E and F and of the knives M and N is well known in controlling the movement of the harnesses, and need not be described. Only those parts of the loom appertaining to this invention have been shown in the drawings.

The eccentrics may be constructed as follows The outer one, B, consists of three parts, a circular slotted plate, B', Figs. 5 and 6, having a grooved edge, which is encircled by the ring, Fig. 4. This ring is made in two sections, c and d, connected by screws.

A hub-plate, l?, Fig. 8, keyed upon the crank-shaft S, gives motion to the eccentric- B, and also to the eccentric A, which is constructed like B, except that the circular plate A', Fig. 7, has, in addition to the slots s s, an aperture, through which the crank-shaft S passes to the hub-plate P, this aperture being elongated to admit of different positions of the plate A with reference to the shaft S. The circular plates A and B are attached by setscrews to the hub-plate P, and by means of the slots s s may be set in any position, and thereby afford a greater or less thrust and open the shed to a greater or less extent.

I am aware that variable eecentrics may be constructed in various Ways, and do not conine myself' to the construction herein set forth.

I am aware, as already stated, that a single crank-motion has been used for moving the lifter, and through that the depressor rods, and that the thrust thereof could be varied 5 but the mechanical difficulties in the construction and use of two cranks of variable thrust, attached, respectively, to the lifter and depres'sor rods, are completely overcome bythis invention.

Some of the advantages resulting from the use of this invention upon thatclass of woolenlooms to which it is applicable, I conceive to be, irst, such an action of the loom is obtained as is easier for the Warp and less liable to break the yarn, as has been demonstrated by careful trial; second, by this invention the lifter and depressor rods are rendered independent of each other, thereby affording greater facility in Weaving; third, a more regular motion is obtained, and therefore less power is required to actuate the loom; fourth, a loom with. this motion attached thereto is more simple, more easily repaired, and affords more ready access tothe parts thereof by the operator; fifth, it has been ascertained by actual trial, continued for several months, that a loom having this attachment can be run at a higher speed, and

very considerable increase is obtained in the number of yards Woven.

I do not claim, broadly, moving the harnesses of looms by motion derived from eccentrics, as various applications of' that principle are in use; but` What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of variable eccentrics with the lifter and depressor rods, respectively, and actuating the harnesses thereby, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

GEORGE HANCOCK.

Witnesses:

J. I?. BUCKLAND, JOHN G. MACINTOSH. 

